Everywhere in our daily lives, we are identifi ed, tracked, profi led, and known. Infrastructures of surveillance–everyday, taken-for-granted, institutionalized, and technically mediated practices that identify individuals and observe and analyze their actions–permeate society. These infrastructures determine who is able to … Continue reading “From Privacy to Visibility: CONTEXT, IDENTITY, AND POWER IN UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS”
Issue: Issue 083 Surveillance
Surveillance
Copying Kill Bill
laikwan pangHolding a pirated VCD copy of Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (dir. Quentin Tarantino, 2003) that he found on a Beijing street, U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans solemnly warned the Chinese government in his Beijing press conference: “We have been patient … Continue reading “Copying Kill Bill”
Surveillance: Work, Myth, and Policy
richard maxwellSurveillance is tough work. Depending on the job, the U.S. Department of Labor tells us that working conditions can include any combination of the following: stress, considerable time spent on the feet, danger, confrontations with angry or upset individuals, risk, … Continue reading “Surveillance: Work, Myth, and Policy”
Every Move You Make: Bodies, Surveillance, and Media
michael j. shapiroHistorically, the forms of surveillance attending episodes of militarization, warring violence, and internal surveillance are part of a more general biopolitics. They are articulated with other political functions aimed at accepting, rejecting, or managing bodies. The concept of biopolitics, which … Continue reading “Every Move You Make: Bodies, Surveillance, and Media”
Biometrics and Post-9/11 Technostalgia
kelly a. gatesThe idea that computerized face recognition may have helped avert the al- Qaeda terrorist attacks was perhaps the most ambitious claim circulating about biometric identification technologies in the aftermath of September 11. Along with the enormous flood of imagery of … Continue reading “Biometrics and Post-9/11 Technostalgia”
Surveillance in Decolonized Social Space: THE CASE OF SEX WORKERS IN BENGAL
swati ghoshIn depicting contemporary panopticism, Roy Boyne has identified danger as the single most effective cause of surveillance, where “danger from our enemies, danger from those who might grow into our enemies, [and] danger from those who could not look after … Continue reading “Surveillance in Decolonized Social Space: THE CASE OF SEX WORKERS IN BENGAL”
Resisting Surveillance
john gilliomIf you ever visit the remote hills and hollows that make up the far southeastern corner of Appalachian Ohio, you will find the poorest counties in the state. There will be roads you can barely drive on, schools that are … Continue reading “Resisting Surveillance”
Global Citizens and Local Powers: SURVEILLANCE IN TURKEY
cagatay topalTurkey’s Central Population Administrative System–Merkezi Nüfus Ídaresi Sistemi (MERNI˙S)–is at the center of the Turkish state’s efforts to establish a database of information about its population. MERNI˙S increases the state’s powers to (re)produce individuals for hegemonic purposes by adapting the … Continue reading “Global Citizens and Local Powers: SURVEILLANCE IN TURKEY”
Suppressing Grief: THE POLITICS OF "MCCARTHY"-ERA TESTIMONIES
margaret morganroth gulletteA sweeping movement toward acknowledging state crimes against citizens has been one of the most striking signs of recent political statesmanship and broad-based efforts for social justice after the innumerable civil devastations of the twentieth century. In Argentina, the unofficial … Continue reading “Suppressing Grief: THE POLITICS OF "MCCARTHY"-ERA TESTIMONIES”